The Bouvé Honors Program is part of the comprehensive University Honors Program, with college-specific opportunities that complement the university-wide options. Bouvé Honors students have access to special seminars and other innovative programming, enabling them to foster relationships with faculty members and other Honors students. Honors students fulfill Bouvé’s mission of developing future healthcare leaders by going beyond academic expectations while maintaining a focus on interprofessional studies through seminars, fostering relationships with faculty members through independent research, and promoting healthcare in the community through service learning and engagement, both in the U.S. and globally.

Interprofessional Seminars in Healthcare

First-term Bouvé Honors students choose from a set of seminars that cut across the healthcare professions to highlight significant contemporary issues and to connect students with experts in the field, within and beyond academia. Small class size fosters student interaction with senior faculty members. Examples of previously offered Honors interprofessional seminars are as follows:

Aging: No Need to Stop the Clock

Health in the City

Drug Discovery and Delivery: From Bench to Bedside

Inventing the Future of Healthcare: Using Technology to Support Patient-Centered Self-Care and Self-Management

Bouvé Junior/Senior Honors Projects

Honors students are encouraged to do a Junior/Senior project, conducted with the support of a faculty member/researcher. The Junior/Senior project offers students the opportunity to conduct research or complete a project as part of a course or directed study over two semesters. (Exceptions can be discussed with your academic advisor.) A student who successfully completes a project as specified by college requirements will receive Honors in the Discipline upon graduating. Students who are on track to earn a BS and stay for a clinical doctorate must have the honors designation awarded before completing their BS degree. Students interested in completing a Bouvé Junior/Senior Honors Project must complete the Bouvé Honors Project Proposal and Approval Form.

The goal of the Bouvé Junior/Senior Honors Project is to foster creativity and exceptional scholarly work and assimilate students’ educational experiences. Bouvé Honors projects provide students with the opportunity to explore their chosen discipline in greater depth, with guidance from a faculty mentor. While the specific format and requirements for the projects vary by major, all share the goal of reflecting the challenges, opportunities, and measures of excellence most centrally associated with that discipline. The project will allow Bouvé Honors students to develop a deep and critical understanding of the methodology, theory, and policy aspects of the discipline, while also relating it to significant problems in healthcare

Students who have excelled academically but did not enter the Northeastern University Honors program are encouraged to submit a proposal and complete a Junior/Senior Honors project, allowing all Bouvé students the opportunity to graduate with College Honors Distinction.

The selection of a Research Project Advisor for the project is generally based on a student’s interest in a faculty member’s research area or past experience in a class with that professor. The Research Project Advisor is responsible for assisting with project design, assessing progress, advising, and submitting the project grade. Faculty members who are available to work with students on Honors research projects are listed in the Bouvé College Research Compendium.

For more information regarding the Junior/Senior Honors Project, students should contact the Bouvé Honors Faculty Coordinator specific to their majors to explore possibilities for their projects:

Additional Benefits for Bouvé Honors Students

Throughout their time at Northeastern, faculty and advisors encourage and challenge Bouvé Honors students to develop their scholarly interests and to evolve as independent thinkers. Resources include the following:

Unique Bouvé courses offered to Honors students

Group workshops/advising with a dedicated Bouvé Honors student advisor

Community outreach projects with other Bouvé Honors students

Early research opportunities with faculty

Membership in a community of scholars who are passionate about healthcare

Exciting global experiences

Bouvé Honors students are able to enroll in the following courses to enrich their college experience:

Honors First Year Inquiry Series (Terms 1 & 2)

These series are thematic offerings that are generally interdisciplinary in nature and align with NU CORE knowledge domain and comparative cultures requirements.

Enhancing Honors (Term 1; 1-SH credit)

This course engages students with the Honors community, Northeastern University’s community, the city of Boston, and beyond.

Honors Interdisciplinary Seminars (Terms 3-6)

These seminars facilitate a more advanced understanding of issues, with an emphasis on research and inquiry. They are intended for students in their third to sixth academic term.

Junior/Senior Honors Project (Terms 5-10)

Students have opportunities for Honors Program grants and will present their research at the Honors Evening held each spring.

Directed Study in Honors (Terms 1-10)

Directed studies are customized opportunities for students who enter with AP credit equivalent to entry-level NU CORE requirements and those with interests outside of or complementary to the usual academic disciplines.

In addition to these Honors courses, Bouvé students have access to Honors sections of courses* in other colleges, for example:

ENGL 1111 College Writing

ENGL 3301 Adv. Writing Discipline

PSYC 1101 Foundations of Psychology

PSYC 3402 Social Psychology

PSYC 3404 Developmental Psychology

BIOL 1112 Lab, General Biology 1

BIOL 1114 Lab, General Biology 2

BIOL 1118 Lab, Integrated Anatomy & Physiology 1

BIOL 1120 Lab, Integrated Anatomy & Physiology 2

PHYS 1146 Lab, Physics for Life Sciences 1

PHYS 1148 Lab, Physics for Life Sciences 2

There are additional honors choices that satisfy the arts or humanities NU Core requirement, such as MUSC 1101 Introduction to Music and MUSC 1135 Coltrane.

*Courses Subject to Change

Honors Program Distinctions

Nature of the Project:
The Junior/Senior Honors Project is expected to be completed with faculty guidance. A student may join a professor in his/her active research or create an independent research project under the mentorship of a faculty member whose expertise will support his/her project.

Project Time:
Students in semesters 5 – 10 may engage in their Honors project.

Scope of Project:
Honors projects are completed over a 2 semester period of time.

Form:
Students will conduct research or complete a project as part of a course or directed study over two semesters, often as part of a capstone project. To be eligible for College Honors Distinction, a student must earn a minimum of a B and approval from the Bouvé Honors Committee.

Student Eligibility:

Students who are currently in the Northeastern University Honors program.

Students who are not currently in the Northeastern University Honors program but have a GPA of 3.5 or higher may submit a request for consideration by completing the Bouvé Honors Project Proposal and Approval Form that can be found at URL.

Students who are not in the Northeastern University Honors Program but who have completed an extraordinary scholarly work or were involved in exceptional research that demonstrates a significant outcome can petition to be reviewed by the Bouvé Honors Committee.

Menu of Junior/Senior Honors Projects that students may select:

Global Honors experience with scholarly project, such as:

Dialogue of Civilizations with scholarly research

1 week global experience through an alternative spring break or student exchange with scholary research

2 week global intensive in collaboration with Northeastern University’s partner institutions (e.g., Ireland or England), resulting in a scholarly work that contributes to interprofessional healthcare research both in the U.S. and around the world (currently in development)

Research project

Interprofessional collaborative project involving up to three students from different majors

Creative scholarly project

Expectations of the Research Advisor and of the Student

A faculty member who agrees to supervise a student’s project expects (1) genuine commitment to the research or creative project, (2) background knowledge of the subject, and (3) demonstration of initiative and independence.

The faculty member who agrees to be a student’s Research Project Advisor will offer expertise and direction in (1) developing a research question and building upon the student’s knowledge of research methodology, (2) completing a literature review and developing a bibliography, (3) narrowing the topic, (4) developing an outline and timeline, and (5) preparing the final draft by reading the project carefully, critically, and in time for the student to make final revisions.

Expectations of the Bouvé Honors Faculty Coordinator by Major

Bouvé Honors Faculty Coordinators meet with first-year students in the fall semester to introduce students to Bouvé College Honors.

Bouvé Honors Faculty Coordinators should invite all honors students in their major to a project advising session in the third or fourth year. An upper-class Honors student who has completed the project should be present to offer advice and perspectives on value of doing the work.

Bouvé Honors Faculty Coordinators will communicate with Research Project Advisors as needed when they are involved in a student’s honors project.

Additional Benefits for Bouvé Honors students

Throughout their time at Northeastern, faculty and advisors encourage and challenge Bouvé Honors students to develop their scholarly interests and to evolve as independent thinkers. Resources include the following:

Unique Bouvé courses offered to Honors students

Group workshops/advising with a dedicated Bouvé Honors student advisor

Community outreach projects with other Bouvé Honors students

Early research opportunities with faculty

Membership in a community of scholars who are passionate about healthcare

Exciting global experiences

Unique and Exciting Non-Credit-Bearing Opportunities

Armchair Travel- Around the World: Learn from peers who traveled abroad or participated in a Dialogue of Civilizations during informal evening gatherings to share their experiences with faculty and other Honors students over dinner.

Academic Opportunities: Special activities and programs support and enrich the formal curriculum and classroom experience, giving students an opportunity to engage with faculty. These may include special activities and program support.

Annual NU Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo: Bouvé also provides many opportunities for students to present their scholarship and research, including the Research, Innovation, and Scholarship Expo. Students will be selected to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®). Financial support may be awarded by contributions from Alumni, Friends of Bouvé, and grants.

NCUR Mission Statement: The Annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research is the most important and visible undergraduate research conference in the United States. The mission of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR®) is to promote undergraduate research scholarship and creative activity done in partnership with faculty or other mentors as a vital component of higher education.

Health Care Entrepreneurs: Group of Northeastern University Alumni dedicated to sharing their knowledge, advice and experience with Northeastern University students to inspire them to explore entrepreneurship in the exciting evolving works of healthcare.

George Behrakis Essay Award (currently in development): Award selection for the Bouvé College undergraduate essay on a subject that answers a question related to healthcare. Essays may be drawn from a wide range of disciplines. The essay may be written specifically for the Behrakis Essay or it may be a version of a paper previously written for a course.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I earn College Honors Distinction if I’m not in the University Honors program?
A: By submitting a proposal for a Bouvé Junior/Senior Honors project, you are also applying to graduate with College Honors Distinction. Once you have successfully completed your honors project, you will have earned College Honors Distinction.

Q: What defines a scholarly work?
A: The definition of scholarly work will depend on the type of Honors project. All of the projects will conclude with results that can benefit the healthcare community. All students will need to complete a paper of at least 10 pages, though traditional research papers will need to be longer in length in order to answer the necessary research questions. Students doing other types of scholarly work, such as beginning a non-profit organization, doing service work abroad, or other creative projects, will need to provide evidence of research conducted to prepare for the project, the main objectives, and the end results. Simply acting as a teaching assistant for an Honors course, studying abroad, completing clinical work, or completing a service trip is not enough to qualify for an Honors project. There must be a scholarly work produced at the end of the project. For more information on what constitutes a scholarly work, students can speak with their academic advisor.

Q: Can I complete a Bouvé Junior/Senior Honors project and also complete a minor or concentration?
A: This will depend on students’ majors, minors, and credits earned. If you have questions regarding how Honors will affect your curriculum plan, please visit your Academic Advisor in Bouvé’s Office of Student Services.

Q: If I’m doing an interdisciplinary project with a student outside of my major, how will we be advised?
A: Students will need to find a Research Advisor who agrees to advise their project. This may mean that students both find one faculty member specializing in that interdisciplinary field or students might have different faculty members advising them who agree to work together in their mentorships.